The Slovak Parliament has issued a rebuke to its EU counterpart for having attempted to assert a right to abortion.

In April, the EU Parliament passed a resolution calling for abortion to be included in the EU’s charter of fundamental human rights.

However, last week the Slovak Parliament voted 78 to 40 that abortion is a matter of national sovereignty and therefore beyond the competence of the EU.

The motion expressed concern over “repeated efforts” of the European Parliament “to interfere with” the sovereignty of the member states of the European Union, citing abortion as an example and adding that issues “related to health policy fall within the competence of national states”.